For the sake of comparison, the previous version of the game, Modern Warfare 2, sold 4.7 million units for $310 million on its first day. Both numbers for Black Ops and Modern Warfare 2 are for global sales, but technically the game was only available in North America and the UK on day one. Modern Warfare 2 reportedly generated $550 million in sales during the first five days available. At the time, that beat all other video game launches and was more cash than any movie had made in the same timeframe.

Black Ops is the seventh installment of the popular Call of Duty military-themed shooter franchise. Last week, Activision Blizzard said that it did not expect Black Ops to outperform Modern Warfare 2 even though a month ago it said preorders for the former were selling faster than those for the latter did.

"There has never been another entertainment franchise that has set opening day records for two consecutive years and we are on track to outperform last year's five-day global sales record of $550 million," Bobby Kotick, Activision Blizzard CEO, said in a statement. "The game's success underscores the pop culture appeal of the brand. Call of Duty: Black Ops is the finest game that Treyarch has ever made and raises the bar for online gameplay by delivering the deepest and most intense Call of Duty experience yet. The Call of Duty franchise has over 25 million players around the world that are engaged in billions of hours of online gameplay, and we are committed to supporting them with new content and features on a more frequent and regular basis."